Behind the Scenes Buzz with Facebook and Avengers

FACEBOOK, GOOGLE COULD LOSE $44B IN AD REVENUE: Ad spending is plummeting amid the coronavirus pandemic. Facebook and Google face losing $44 billion in ad revenue this year, Cowen & Co. analysts say. But they’ll still be profitable: Google’s net revenue is projected to be $127.5 billion, and Facebook’s ad estimated to be $67.8 billion.

ANIMATED SERIES KEEP PRODUCING: As much of the film and TV industry has been put on hold amid the coronavirus shutdown, animated hits like The Simpsons, Family Guy, Bob’s Burgers and Duncanville, are finding ways to allow the show to go on. Several shows are doing virtual table reads, and having musicians create remote scores from home. “Production hasn’t skipped a day or lost a beat,” The Simpsons showrunner Al Jean told The Hollywood Reporter this week. “We intend to do the 22 shows we were contracted to do…. There’s been no change in how we do things.”

STUART GORDON DIES AT 72: Re-Animator filmmaker Stuart Gordon has died at age 72. Gordon also co-created the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids franchise. He also directed Christopher Lambert starrer Fortress, Stephen Dorff movie Space Truckers and William H. Macy film Edmond. One of Gordon’s agents Deadline, “Stuart was a lovely man, a dear friend, a client for nearly a decade, and he will be greatly missed. He was an icon in the horror genre, a loved mentor and bright light that inspired and encouraged aspiring genre film makers to excel at their craft. He left his finger prints on the film industry for generations to come to enjoy.”

CHINA TO RERELEASE AVENGERS FRANCHISE: As China moves to reopen its move theaters and rebuild its local film industry, it plans to release all four of Marvel‘s Avengers films, plus Avatar and Warner Bros.’ Christopher Nolan films Inception and Interstellar. China has had success with rereleases in the past. In 2012, a 3D rerelease of James Cameron‘s Titanic earned $145 million. In 2018, Japanese anime master Hayao Miyazaki‘s 2001 classic Spirited Away earned $69 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter.